Housework a series of oneshots
by nalanna
Summary: well, we all know that Tohru works hard to keep the house clean she would have to with three grown men...So the boys try to help a little more... summary bad, stories better. Please read and review as i am very proud of these. Thankyou XX
1. House mouse

Housework Shorts

These have been in the works for a while now, and here they are finally! Yay! There are three, one for each man in Tohru's life, starting with Yuki. Let me know what you think! Thank you!!!

House Mouse

There she was. At it again…

It was ten o clock at night, and Tohru was still cleaning the Kitchen. _How_ she could still be awake after the day that she had had, Yuki could only wonder.

He was guessing that she had been up at the crack of dawn to prepare their breakfast; then had slowly, but surely worked her way around the house, hoovering, dusting and polishing. Yuki had been out for most of the day, studying at the library so as not to get in her way, but she was still going when he had arrived back home.

He watched her incredulously as she tirelessly cleaned the cupboards, talking to herself happily.

Yuki coughed quietly, causing Tohru to smack her head on the shelf above her. He rushed over to her, but was at a loss as to what to do as she stumbled dizzily around the room, apologizing for her clumsiness, whilst Yuki apologized for making her jump.

"Sohma-kun!" She cried despairingly, "I'm so sorry! I didn't see you there, how rude of me- please forgive me!" She attempted to bow, but overbalanced and fell headfirst into Yuki's chest, which caused his curse to kick in. There was a loud "poof" as Yuki was consumed by glittering purple smoke. When it finally cleared, a small grey rat sat in his place, blinking up at Tohru with his beady eyes.

"Oh Sohma-kun!" I'm sorry! I'm such an idiot!" Tohru had launched into "panic mode" again. "I didn't mean to turn you into a rat! Honestly, I am so stupid- I just overbalanced a little and-and- well"-

-"Honda-san, it's ok." Yuki interrupted hastily, "It was my fault. I made you jump after all." He silently cursed his asthmatic cough.

He sighed and walked over to where she had fallen, and placed his former hands- now paws- on her knees.

"Honda-san, how long have you been working today?" He asked soberly. Tohru looked blank, as though Yuki had been talking in a foreign language.

"Honda-san," Yuki repeated, "Have you been working _all_ day?"

Understanding dawned on her face. "Oh! Err… of course I have!" She replied matter- of- factly. "I never managed to do the hoovering last week, so I had to do it today! And there was the washing, dusting, cooking and- oh!" She looked panic stricken. "I still need to do the ironing. Oh no! I forgot!" Yuki could see where this was going, and was keen to prevent it.

"Honda-san, you really should take it easier. If you carry on working as hard as you are then you'll end up with a fever."

Tohru waved this aside. "I'll be fine," she replied reassuringly, "but thank you for worrying about me."

Just at that moment, Yuki changed back into his human form. Tohru yelped and hid her face behind her hands while he re-dressed.

When he had done, Tohru ran to fetch the washing basket where all of that day's ironing was kept. She wrestled with the ironing board and set to pressing the clothes. That was, however, until Yuki gently prized the iron out of her hands and took over. He waved her protest aside and told her to go and relax.

"But-but-but," She dithered.

"No 'but's', Honda-san." Yuki replied firmly. "You've been working all day. This is the least I can do."

"But I can't let you!" She cried in horror, "The housework is _my_ responsibility, not yours, or anyone else's! It wouldn't be fair for you"-

-"Honda-san," Yuki cut her off gently, pressing the collar of his own purple Chinese style shirt. "Please, if you won't do it for your self," he continued quietly, "then would you do it for me?" He took the iron off of the material and looked her directly in the eyes.

She blushed slightly and bowed, breaking their eye contact. "Yes, Sohma-kun." She mumbled, and hurried out of the kitchen, head bowed.

Yuki chuckled to himself quietly. He picked up the iron and continued ironing their clothes.

"Tohru…" He whispered, smiling. "Oh Tohru…"

* * *

Well there you go! Did you like? Hate? Think it could have done with something…_more_? Let me know!!!

This has been Nalanna…


	2. Cats like the smell of clean washing

Housework Shorts

Right-o! This is the second in the "Housework shorts" trilogy! This time it is Kyo who is keen to lend a helping hand…

I am currently listening to the Moulin Rouge Sound track. Just thought that you'd like to know…

Kitty cats like the smell of fresh washing…

Kyo stretched out his tight limbs as he made his way down to the utility room. He desperately needed his lucky shirt today, as he was planning to beat his best running time in training that morning. However, it wasn't in his wardrobe, so he assumed that it hadn't yet been washed. He didn't care if it smelled, or if it was dirty. He needed the luck that was woven into the material- not that Kyo believed in luck of course…

Pushing open the door, Kyo was shocked to see a certain brunette standing in front of the washing machine with a look of dismay wrought across her face. Kyo's first thought was "why is she up this early?" followed by "why isn't the washing machine on?" He made a noise in the back of his throat, to alert her to his presence. And sure enough, her head snapped up to look at him with a big smile on her face, all previous dismay wiped clear.

"Ah! Kyo-kun! How are you this morning? Did you sleep alright?" Her smile fell as she saw the look on his face. "Kyo-kun?" She asked worriedly. "Kyo-kun- what is wrong? You look really angry at something!"

Kyo was confused. He didn't _feel_ angry. So why was she looking at him as if he was a bomb about to explode?

"I'm not angry!" He replied gruffly, noticing her wince at his tone. Knowing that she wasn't convinced, Kyo changed the subject.

"What's up with the washing machine?" He asked, nodding his head in the direction if the appliance.

"Huh?" Tohru looked dazedly at the machine in puzzlement. She stared at it for a length of time, and Kyo could feel his patience wearing thin. Finally, she looked back up at him and said, "Well… it seems to be broken."

She said it so simply that Kyo wanted to burst out laughing. The serious expression on her face just added to the comedy. Holding back his chuckles, he walked over to it and began to twist the dials. He didn't know why he was doing it. He had no idea how to use a _working_ washing machine, never mind one that was broken.

He shrugged helplessly. "I don't know what to do, Tohru. I think you'll have to call someone in to have a look at it."

"Do you think so?" She asked desperately. She looked quite distraught. Kyo sighed.

"If you are worried about the money, then Shigure will pay it. It's _his_ washing machine after all…"

Tohru shook her head. "No, it isn't the money that I am worried about Kyo-kun." Kyo looked at her, dumbfounded. For the first time since he had met her, Tohru was not worrying about paying for something. He _had_ to know what was so pressing that Tohru wasn't worried about money.

"Well…err… what _are_ you worrying about?" He asked in confusion.

She turned to look at him with a look of despair. "The _washing_ Kyo-kun! The _washing! _How am I going to get the washing done if the washing machine is broken?" She was past despair now… Kyo noted with some trepidation that she was now entering the "panic" phase.

"I mean…" Tohru continued, almost tearfully, "I missed doing it last night because I had to do some homework, so I got up extra early to set it off today and now it is broken! Oh it is my entire fault! I should have done it last night, then this wouldn't have happened!"

Kyo raised an eyebrow. "Are telling me that if you had done the washing last night then the machine wouldn't be broken this morning?" Tohru nodded.

Kyo sighed. There was no point in arguing it out with her. She had decided that that was how it was, and nothing that he said would convince her otherwise. Instead, he decided to deal with the more pressing matter of not being able to do the washing.

"Isn't there a way to do it by hand?" He asked, hoping there wasn't; he didn't want her to have to work any harder than she already did.

However, he was out of luck. Tohru's eye's lit up and her smile was back in place. "Yes! Kyo-kun there _is_ a way to do it by hand! It shouldn't take too much longer…" By this time she was positively beaming. "It is just as well that I got up early today isn't it?" She made her way over to the washing basket and picked it up. Kyo's jaw hit the floor.

"Err… Tohru?" He said quietly. She looked over at him expectantly. "Tohru… are you planning to wash _all of that_ by hand?" He pointed to the mountainous washing pile that she was carrying. He had no idea that the three of them generated so much work for her.

Tohru nodded happily. "Yes, I am. But don't worry Kyo-kun! When my mum was alive, and our washing machine broke, we couldn't afford to buy a new one or have the old one repaired, so we got pretty quick at washing our clothes by hand. Don't worry about it Kyo-kun."

She made her way to the sink and started sorting the clothes into colours and materials. Kyo hadn't realised that so much work went into washing clothes. Before he knew what he was doing, he had walked over to where Tohru was and had started to help with the sorting.

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru cried, shocked. "You don't have to do that! I can manage fine by myself." She tried to distract him by changing the subject. "Don't you normally go for a run in the morning- was that why you were angry?" She looked over at him, worriedly. "Were you angry because I hadn't washed your blue sweatshirt that you always run in?"

Kyo flushed. Even Tohru knew that his blue sweatshirt was special…

"I wasn't angry Tohru- more- cross that you were doing chores so early in the morning…" Kyo's flush deepened. "You work too hard…" he mumbled.

Tohru also blushed. "I don't really do enough…" she replied sadly. "This should have been done last night…"

Kyo suddenly grabbed Tohru's hand. He turned her to face him, and he looked directly into her eyes. "Don't be afraid to ask for help." He mumbled, embarrassedly. He was shocked at himself for his boldness, but didn't let go of her hand. "You do so much for us Tohru," he forced himself to continue. She looked about as shocked as he felt. "We appreciate it…a lot…" That was all he could manage. He dropped her hand and went back to sorting out the clothes.

Tohru was silent for a while. They worked side by side, washing the clothes in warm soapy water. The smell of the washing up powder made Kyo giddy. It was such a fresh smell… it reminded him of Tohru…

When most of the washing was done, Kyo felt a pressure on his shoulder. Twisting his head around, he could see Tohru leaning on him, a smile playing on her face, her eyes closed contentedly.

"Thank you, Kyo-kun." She whispered. Kyo felt the heat rise in his face, but he didn't care. As long as she knew that she wasn't on her own, and that there was help when she needed it, he didn't care. He flung his arms around her shoulders and rested his own head on hers, enjoying the split second of contact before he transformed into his orange familliar. Tohru scooped him up and sat him on the side, stroking his head. She smiled down at him, and Kyo purred.

Well… what did you think then??? Review, review, REVIEW! Please? I didn't even have a structured plan for this one. I just had the idea of Kyo doing the washing, and… KABOOM! The washing machine was broken and all of a sudden they were doing it by hand… I worry about my thought processes sometimes…

I stopped listening to the Moulin Rouge Sound track at about the line: "Kyo suddenly grabbed Tohru's hand." Yeah… Its five past twelve… the neighbours won't be happy… :S


	3. Dogs and bathrooms do NOT mix

Housework Shorts

Hello! This is the third (but not necessarily the last… we'll have to see… ;) ) This one is about Shigure, and the bathroom… Enjoy!

Shigure hopped desperately towards the bathroom; he drastically needed to relieve himself. He had been writing all night, denying himself of all basic human necessities such as food and cigarettes, so therefore the sudden onslaught of pressure in his bladder had hit him like a tonne of bricks.

However, he was to be denied again, he was to find out, when he rounded the corner to see that Tohru was busy cleaning every square inch of his porcelain heaven.

He stopped short of the threshold and stared blankly at the busy brunette, who was currently blocking his path. Shigure whimpered; why did the God's hate him? _Why?_

He tapped the doorframe lightly, and smiled the best that he could- despite his discomfort- when she turned to face him.

"Shigure-san!" Tohru greeted happily, while she ran the tap to rinse her cloth. The sound of running water dripping, splashing and sloshing around in the basin, was all too much for Shigure to bear.

"Ah, Tohru-kun, my sweet little flower!" He cried, with even more exuberance than normal. "Could I perhaps disturb you for a second?"

Tohru looked blankly at him. Shigure sighed inwardly: he was going to have to be direct. Not that he wanted to discuss these sorts of things with a young, delicate lady such as Tohru.

"Tohru-kun, I need to use this room." He stated flatly. Her eyes lit up with the dawning of understanding and she flapped frantically out of the room so that Shigure could utilize it.

Ten minutes later, Shigure opened the door and looked sheepishly at Tohru.

"I appear to have… err…" Tohru looked at Shigure with suppressed laughter. It was clear that she wanted to burst out giggling, but that would have been rude of her, so instead she peeped around the doorframe to see what Shigure meant. Her jaw dropped; surely she was seeing things…

The room was in total chaos. The soaps that Tohru had painstakingly arranged were knocked all over the floor. The showerhead had fallen off, and water was spraying all over the tiles and mirror that she had not long polished… the toilet seat was left up…

She surveyed the mess with disbelief. Shigure had been in there for ten minutes, and he had managed to wreak _this_ havoc? Tohru shook her head to wake herself up.

"Eh…Tohru-kun?" Shigure said feebly, "I…err… owe you an explanation…"

Tohru wasn't sure if she wanted to hear it, but she turned her face to Shigure and politely bade him to continue.

"Well…" He began, avoiding her gaze. "I had… _been_… and I… ah… was washing my hands… as you do…" He stared at the floor hopelessly, as if he wanted it to swallow him. "I slipped on a cloth that was on the floor, and well… I grabbed hold of the shower, but I pulled the head off. I suppose I knocked the tap on as I hit my head on the side if the bath." He sighed heavily. "I came to about a minute ago… I tried to clean up but I am awfully dizzy… so I suppose I made it worse…"

Tohru was panicked. "You hit your head?" She cried hysterically. "Oh no! Are you bleeding? Can you see straight? You aren't sleepy are you? You don't feel sick…"

Shigure looked at her incredulously. "Now, now! My little flower, you worry too much! My head is fine, I promise." He looked into the bathroom guiltily. "I'm more worried about the work that I've created…"

Tohru gasped and ran into the room to turn off the spraying shower, but slipped on the wet floor. Shigure dived to catch her, but, being possessed by the spirit of the dog, he transformed as soon as he had caught her. This meant that he had lost his grip on her shoulders, and her head smacked on the tiles with an ear splitting crack…

Her head screamed in protest as she tried to wrench her eyes open. When the light hit her pupils, a searing pain flashed through her cranium, leaving her feeling nauseous. She lay still for a while, as she tried to gain her composure. Slowly, she sat up and looked at her surroundings.

She was in her bedroom. She gazed around blearily, confused and agitated. However, before she got herself worked up too much, Kyo slowly opened the door and made his way over to her with an ice pack.

"Thank god!" He sighed with relief, sitting himself down on the edge of her bed and forcing her to lie back down. He pressed the ice pack to the back of her head; the coolness that it brought was soothing.

He looked at her with heavy concern. "What the hell happened?" He asked quietly, unconsciously smoothing out the wrinkles in her bed sheets.

"Well…" Tohru whimpered as the effort of speaking shot another blinding pain through her skull. Kyo cut her off with a motion of his head.

"Never mind," he replied gruffly, "Thinking about it, the dog told us all about it…" He sighed and looked Tohru in the eyes, "don't push yourself." He continued in gentler tones.

Tohru gazed at Kyo from under her fringe, wondering why he was there…

"Don't worry about the bathroom." He assured her. "We got Shigure on it, seeing as he made the mess."

"That's terrible!" Tohru cried, sitting up sharply. However, she immediately regretted it as she was hit with more pain and sickness. Kyo placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her back down gently, so that she was lying back on the ice pack. He didn't remove his hands, as if in fear of her jumping back up again.

"He can't clean up the bathroom!" She protested weakly, all too aware that Kyo was very close to her. "It… it was _my_ fault that he fell over…" Guilt poked at her heart like a relentless, extra pulse.

Kyo shook his head and sighed. "No Tohru, it _wasn't._" He said firmly, fixing her with a piercing stare.

"But"-

Kyo placed his index finger over her mouth to silence her.

"No making excuses!" He repeated patiently. "It wasn't your fault, and that is _final!_ Do you understand?"

Kyo had leaned his head in a little closer, so as to emphasise his words, but all Tohru could think about was his finger on her lips and that he was even closer that before…

Too weak and confused to continue arguing, she nodded feebly. Kyo looked satisfied, and backed off, finally removing his hands. They sat in awkward silence for a few minutes, each contemplating their own thoughts.

Then, without warning, Kyo grabbed Tohru's hand and gave it an affectionate squeeze. "Get better." He whispered, a blush creeping up his neck.

Tohru, equally red, squeezed his hand back. "I will Kyo-kun," She assured him quietly, "I will…"

That evening, Shigure sat eating his evening take out in sheepish silence. Every time he tried to strike up a conversation with Tohru, either Yuki or Kyo would glare at him. He would quickly close his mouth whilst the boys distracted Tohru from him. Eventually, he just avoided everyone's gaze.

He had worked the entire day to clean up the mess that he had caused; the bathroom was pristine.

_Never again! _Shigure thought bitterly to himself. _I will never work all night long, ever again!_

Well… what did you think? This one is my least favourite of the three so far so I ended up writing about Kyo and Tohru again… oooopsss… ah well…;) I have an idea for another one, but I need to know if it will be received well enough…

Basically, Shigure, Yuki and Kyo decide to do the weekly supermarket shop whilst Tohru is "ill". It turns out that her mysterious illness is her monthly visitor, and she is in desperate need of tampons. And guess who has to go and fetch them…? Well… that is up to you… let me know what you think of the idea, and who, out of Shigure, Kyo and Yuki, you would like to go through the embarrassing scenario of buying tampons… or not… …


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